Sarcastic binder reviews a hit on Amazon

Mike Krumboltz

The TicketOctober 18, 2012

During Tuesday's debate, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that he had been given "binders full of women" when he sought females for cabinet positions while governor of Massachusetts. Sarcastic binder enthusiasts pounced. A meme was born.

Snarky Amazon.com customers have posted slews of fake (though incredibly in-depth) reviews on, you guessed it, binders. Many of the reviews, tongues firmly in cheek, give credit to the binders for their ability to contain females. LeeBo of Raleigh, North Carolina writes, "As a wife and mother, I LOVE this binder. It keeps me in my place, allows me get dinner ready on time, AND costs 72% of more masculine version. Some people might think its sexist, but sheesh, I'm not binding my feet, just my brain."

And the hits keep coming. Martha H. Saltzman writes, "I used to think women were beyond organization till I discovered these binders. Now those pesky women are lined up, organized and orderly." And Maia Appleby writes, "I'm proud to say that I'm in this binder. I've spend 20 years working my way up from Walmart mom to soccer mom, and finally, I've hit the glass ceiling. I'm a binder mom..."

BeckBeck writes, "Being a very curvy lady, I really need more of a plus-sized binder to fit into. Will one be made available soon? Otherwise, this binder has everything a woman needs- a small pocket to fit my .70 per dollar, another to store all my recipes for the vast amount of cooking I perform each and every day, plus three separate rings on which to hang my personal belongings. I'll keep my eyes peeled and my fingers crossed that a larger version will soon hit the market. In the meantime, I'm kind of enjoying the "too-tight" look as my entire worth is based on entirely superficial things."

Other reviewers aren't so positive. MMP1980 writes, "This binder is decent, but I would prefer it to include the black plastic thing on the inside so that I can flip the woman back to the front when they get out of line." And Robin H. writes, "This product might be sufficient for smaller projects, but I was looking for a binder that could be made 'full of women.' My project is aimed at improving women's historically lower employment and pay in the U.S. and an information program on TV last night featured a handsome salesman who suggested that binders was the way to go."

This is hardly the first time Amazon.com customers have gone wild with the fake reviews. The epic three wolf T-shirt from several years back sparked an avalanche of reviews, nearly all of them praising the shirt for its supernatural abilities. And when Bic released ballpoint pens for women, the reviewers attacked.